March 1, 2012

Docket Management Facility US Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE West Building Ground Floor

Room W12-140 Washington, DC 20590

Re: Request for Exemption, Revision 1

Petitioner: Seaborne Virgin Islands, Inc., d.b.a. Seaborne Airlines by its President/CEO, Mr. Omer ErSelcuk

Petitioner’s Contact Information: 1210 Watergut Christiansted, VI 00820 (340) 773-5991 extension 23
oerselcuk@seaborneairlines.com

On January 26, 2012, Seaborne Airlines submitted a request (FR Docket ID# FAA-2012-0098) for a temporary extension to the compliance date for three (3) of its aircraft to certain provisions of 14 CFR 121.359. At the request of the FAA, Seaborne Airline is submitting this letter to provide additional information in support of its request for temporary exemption relief.

Background: Seaborne Virgin Islands, Inc., doing business as Seaborne Airlines holds Air Carrier Certificate Number: S9BA675J and has operations specificati ons authorizing it to conduct domestic, flag and supplemental operations in the islands of the Caribbean. Seaborne Airlines primarily provides scheduled passenger service to Puerto Rico, Vieques Island and the Virgin Islands using 19-passenger DeHavilland DHC-6-300 wheel planes. A portion of Seaborne Airlines’ route structure involves providing schedul ed passenger operations using the FLOAT plane configuration of the DHC-6 between St. Thomas, VI (SPB) Charlotte Amalie Harbor and St Croix, VI (SBB) Christiansted Harbor.

After April 7,2012, 14 CFR Part 121359(i), Cockpit Voice Recorders , requires Seaborne Airlines to install upgraded Cockpit Voice Recorders in their aircraft that in part, meets the standards of TSO-C123a, or later revision. The most notable enhancement is the increase of recording

retention time from 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Relief Sought from Regulatory Sections: Compliance Date: 14CFR Part 121359(i), Cockpit Voice Recorder, for three aircraft for a specific period of time.

Page 1 of 5Nature and Extent of the Requested Relief Seaborne Airline is requesting an extension to the compliance date for upgraded Cockpit Voice Recorder required by 14 CFR Part 121.359(i) for three (3) specific aircraft and for a specified time period as described in the Analysis section of this request.

Analysis Although Seaborne Airlines has equipped its own aircraft with the upgraded CVR, the airline also operates three leased aircraft that do not have the upgraded CVR installed. The leases on these aircraft will expire as indicated below which presents a unique and potentially expensive issue for Seaborne Airlines. The DHC-6 Turbopropeller aircraft operated under Part 121 requires the upgraded Cockpit Voice Recorder; 1 however this same aircraft can be operated under Part 135 without the upgraded Cockpit Voice Recorder. 2 As a result the lessor (aircraft owner) has little interest in participating in the cost of installing the upgraded CVR.

In the absence of a temporary operating exemption for these three aircraft, Seaborne Airlines is faced with making a substantial financial investment with no assurance that the leases will be renewed. Seaborne Airlines has determined that the purchase cost for each CVR unit will be 20,000 dollars and the labor cost is estimated at 3200 dollars per installation. The aircraft will be out of service for 4 days and requires a permanent modification to the cockpit instrument panel.

It is important to understand that Seaborne Airlines is prepared to immediately comply with this required upgrade for its fleet but is concerned about making a 23,200 dollar per installation capital improvement to these leased aircraft with no assurance that the aircraft will be available after the end of the lease period. Although the final rule (FR FAA-2005-20245) rejected commenter requests for extending the CVR compliance date, the FAA did recognize the possible need for a temporary operating exemption for an individual airplane. The FAA’s exemption database indicates that the FAA has granted temporary operating exemptions from similar provisions of Part 121.359 to the followi ng three (3) airlines; Federal Express, exemption #10352; Hawaiian Airlines, exemption #10304; and Ryan International, exemption #10394.

Therefore, Seaborne Airlines is requesting a temporary operating exemption for the airplanes

indicated: 1. DeHavilland DHC-6; N251SA; S/N 524; exemption relief until 12/15/2012 2. DeHavilland DHC-6; N288SA; S/N 389; exemption relief until 10/15/2012 3. DeHavilland DHC-6; N562CP; S/N 562; exemption relief until 10/05/2013

Equivalent Level of Safety The primary enhancement to the upgraded CVR is the increase of recording retention time from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Since Seaborne Airlines normally operates at or below 5000 feet and the longest flight is 47 minutes, the loss of critical cockpit voice data is very remote.

1 § 121.359 Cockpit voice recorders. (i) By April 7, 2012, all turbine engine-powered airplanes subject to this section that are manufactured before April 7, 2010, must have a cockpit voice recorder installed that also-- (1) Meets the requirements of § 23.1457(d)(6) or § 25.1457(d)(6) of this chapter, as applicable; (2) Retains at least the last 2 hours of recorded inform ation using a recorder that meets the standards of TSO-C123a, or later revision; and (3) Is operated continuously from the use of the ch ecklist before the flight to completion of the final checklist at the end of the flight.

2 § 135.151 Cockpit voice recorders.

Page 2 of 5In evaluating this request for exemption, please consider the following regarding the DeHavilland DHC-6 aircraft and the Seaborne Airlines operations:

DeHavilland DHC-6 Aircraft

• The DHC-6 is a non-transport category aircraft built under CAR-3 (now FAR Part 23) powered by two Turbo-propeller engines (not turbojet).

• The aircraft is unpressurized and uses simple mechanical control systems and traditional analog instrumentation.

• Since the aircraft is unpressurized, it is used for short flights and as a result the most practical operational altitude is 3000 to 4000 feet AGL and below.

• The DHC-6 was designed for extremely short flig ht legs. Flight legs of less that one hour are desirable but the aircraft is most profitable when used in markets with flight legs of forty five (45) minutes or less.

• It is configured for 19 or less passenger seats. Seaborne Airlines limits the seating configuration to 17 for the wheel plane and 15 for the float plane.

• With 19 seats or less the DHC-6 does not use a flight attendant. As a result, there is no cabin crew to cockpit crew communication issues.

• The three (3) DHC-6 aircraft covered by th is exemption request are leased and will soon
be returned to the owners. The CVR installation cost to Seaborne Airlines is substantial. Since this CVR upgrade is solely a Part 121 requirement for this type aircraft, the aircraft owners have no interest in the sharing the cost of the upgrade. As a result the entire cost will be borne by Seaborne Airlines with no benefit to the airline.

Seaborne Airlines Operations:

• Seaborne Airlines is the only Part 121 Air Carrier using DHC-6 aircraft and provides critical low-cost fare air travel in the San Juan – Virgin Islands market.

• Seaborne Operational Control Center uses lic ensed dispatchers to constantly track each Seaborne flight.

• Except for Vieques Island, Air Traffic Control Tower services are available at all Seaborne Airlines wheel plane destinations. In addition, Approach Control (including radar monitoring) services are avail able throughout Seaborne’s market area.

• All of Seaborne’s scheduled flights are less than 47 minutes and 80% of these flights are less than 20 minutes. As a result, the currently installed 30-minute CVR is capable of recording the entire flight for 80% of Seaborne’s flights.

Since the CVR’s singular use is as a post incident investigation tool, the presence of a CVR in the aircraft does not in any way reduce the operational safety capabilities of a particular flight. As a result, granting of a temporary operating exemption for these aircraft will not reduce the current level of safety.

If exemption relief is granted, Seaborne Airlines will restrict the flight time of any single scheduled leg to no more that one hour.

Benefit to the Public Interest Seaborne's operation between the US Virgin Islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix is one of extreme importance economically as well as politically. Without our frequent and convenient flights operating safely under Part 121 - many aspects of this strategically vital part of the United States would grind to a halt. The following points demonstrate the benefit to the public Interest:

• Currently, Seaborne Airlines carries approximately 85% of the local passenger traffic between St. Croix, VI and St. Thomas, VI.

• Seaborne Airlines is a contract air carrier for the Government of the Virgin Islands. VI Government regulations require employees to only travel on Part 121 air carriers.

Page 3 of 5• Seaborne is the only Part 121 air carrier to provide direct service between St. Thomas and St. Croix and to Vieques Island, PR.

• Seaborne Airlines provides the only air se rvice between Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, VI and Christiansted, St Croix, VI.

• Since health care and medical facilities in the Virgin Islands and Vieques Island are limited, many families rely on Seaborne’s frequen t, low-cost service to Puerto Rico for access to hospitals, medical specialists, and medical laboratories.

• Since Seaborne’s flights consist solely of island destinations, public transportation or auto travel is not an option for travelers.

If Seaborne Airlines is not able to control its cost while providing its services under Part 121 rules, the airline will be forced to conduct operations in accordance with regulatory requirements with lesser safety standards and many of our passengers would then be forced to fly on "9 or less" piston powered aircraft or worse, single pilot/single engine aircraft over open water to the ports we currently serve. The continued operation of Seaborne Airlines is a matter of grave importance to air commerce in San Juan, Vieques Island and the Virgin Islands.

We are convinced that it would be an unintended consequence of this rulemaking to force passengers to fly on Part 135 "9 or less" piston powered aircraft or worse, single pilot/single engine aircraft. Based on the aforementioned, we believe that granting this exemption will allow Seaborne Airlines to continue to provide low-cost, essential air service and therefore is in the public interest.

Summary for Publication in the Federal Register Seaborne Virgin Islands, Inc., doing business as Seaborne Airlines holds Air Carrier Certificate Number: S9BA675J and has operations specificati ons authorizing it to conduct domestic, flag and supplemental operations in the islands of the Caribbean. Seaborne Airlines primarily provides scheduled passenger service to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands using DeHavilland DHC-6-300 wheel planes. A portion of Seaborne Ai rlines’ route structure involves providing scheduled passenger operations using the FLOAT plane configuration of the DHC-6 between St. Thomas, VI (SPB) Charlotte Amalie Harbor and St Croix, VI (SBB) Christiansted Harbor.

After April 7,2012, 14 CFR Part 121359(i), Cockpit Voice Recorders , requires Seaborne Airlines to install upgraded Cockpit Voice Recorders in their aircraft that in part, meets the standards of TSO-C123a, or later revision.

Seaborne Airlines seeks exemption relief to postpone installation of the upgraded Cockpit Voice

Recorder in certain leased aircraft until it can be determined that the airline is able to lease these aircraft on a more permanent basis.

In order to maintain an equivalent level of safety, Seaborne Airlines will accept a limitation of a maximum flight time for any single leg to one hour or less.

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